Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mohsen al Attar-Why Are Our Taxes Paying This Radical?

Why are New Zealand taxpayers paying the salary of a self proclaimed Muslim-Marxist radical academic?

Mohsen al Attar is the first lecturer in Islamic Law at the University of Auckland. He specialises in Law and Development, Islamic Law, Globalisation, International Trade Law and Intellectual Property Law

In 2008 Attar completed his PhD which was an examination of the relationship between Transnational Law and "class struggle". In the PhD he focused in particular on laws created by institutions and non-state entities. "How do these new laws impact people? Peasants? Farmers? Workers? Does it improve their lifestyles or harm them? Does it promote greater equity or continue to polarise the world between spas and slums?

Mr Attar is appreciative of his freedom to develop and teach courses of his choosing. He has stated, "Not many law faculties are as supportive as Auckland in allowing me to teach the courses I want to teach."

Attar is a fan of the teachings of Brazillian Marxist educational theorist Paulo Freire. He states that his outlook on teaching, education and liberation can be best summed up with a quote from Freire,

"Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information."

He has stated that he is "captivated" by the writings of Antonio Gramsci, a highly influential Marxist who was at one time, leader of the Communist Party of Italy.

Gramsci advocated moving to communism through infiltration of religion, the media, academia and social institutions, rather than through worker/peasant insurrection.

Attar is also a huge fan of Malcolm X who was a leader and the public face of the militantly anti-Jewish group, Nation of Islam before moving on to black nationalism and Marxism.

In a 2008 interview, Attar stated that Malcolm X was his personal hero, "one of the foremost intellectuals of the 20th century".

Stating that he was not overly concerned with labels, Attar also commented,:''"There will likely always be spas and slums but there’s no reason why we can’t tone down the spas a little and upgrade the slums. If this makes me a Marxist, anarchist, lefty, Muslim, wolf, goat, sheep, or elk then so be it."''

Attar is also an admirer of the late Edward Said, a Marxist academic who once served on the ruling body of the terrorist Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Attar is a Canadian of Egyptian extraction, who did much of his academic training in the UK, Sweden and the United States-but he has a vision for New Zealand.

In a March 12 2008 interview, Attar stated, "Cultural homogeneity is a thing of the past. Diversity is the key to the future." In an article published in the NZ Herald on March 5, 2008 he also stated, "Within New Zealand, a new Muslim community is emerging. This community is strong; this community is vibrant; this community is diverse; and this community is committed to forging a new ‘We’ in New Zealand.".

I have a problem with paying to support Attar's Marxist vision-do you?

This is quite a racist article. I think you should ask al Attar's students (and yes if you had done your research you would know that his last name is al attar and not attar - pretty ignorant on your part). Anyway, as a former student of his, I can tell you that I am not alone (you should see the number of students in his lectures) in thinking that our taxes haven't been used for a better cause in recent years. Btw, I am of Jewish ancestry and i do not find his position anti-semitic at all (as you are trying to claim). we need more well- informed and inspirational lecturers like al attar!

If only we had the kind of government that would expel Marxist lecturers. The kind of government that would stand up to the likes of Theodor Adorno or Herbert Marcuse and say, "No! We will not stand for you teaching that nonsense here! You are banned from this university!"

There's also soft jihad with which most are not. This involves Muslims emigrating to non-Muslim countries with a long-term goal of swamping the locals demographically by outbreeding them.

We are already seeing this in Europe. Muslims will never assimilate because they don't marry non-Muslims (I can feel an honour killing coming on ...). The fact that Muslim women stay home and pump out babies means that in places like Rotterdam and Copenhagen Muslims are already 40 percent of the population.

They ghettoise into particular districts, making these no-go areas for women who are not covered. They elect a Muslim to represent that ward. They start demanding that tax money goes to the funding of madrassas (Islamic religious schools) and that Sharia (Islamic) law, not the law of the land prevail in their enclaves.

I'm with Kevin Rudd:

This man should be appointed King of the World. Truer words have never been spoken.

This should be a world wide rule. If you want to move to any country and become part of that country ... WELCOME, But if want to change anything in that new country you wish to live in ... GOODBYE.

It took a lot of courage for this man to speak what he had to say for the world to hear. The retribution could be phenomenal, but at least he was willing to take a stand on his and Australia's beliefs. Yes, allow those that want to come, to come. But understand that if you want to go to a country not of your birth, you should expect to live by their rules and respect their way of life. This doesn't mean you have to give up yours. I think he explains it very well.

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told by Rudd to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.

Quotes:

"IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take it or leave it. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians."

"This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom."

"We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!"

"Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture."

"We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us."

"This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our christian beliefs, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.'"

"If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted."

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, WE will find the courage to start speaking and voicing the same truths.

Trevor,You seem to have a biased perspective and I agree with most of what Mohsen has claimed...it seems like your also referring to islam in a negative way!!..From the headline "why are our taxes paying for this radical?" one can tell that your sadly misinformed!!...and an end note:most law students prefer him over all the other lecturers and his classes are always packed!!